Dyed yarn

ABSTRACT

The invention provides dyed yarn characterized by comprising dyed polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber, having an elastic recovery of 60% or greater under 10% elongation, and having a boiling water shrinkage of no greater than 4%. The dyed yarn of the invention has excellent stretchability and dimensional stability as well as a soft feel, and is therefore suitable for use in fabrics.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to dyed yarn composed of polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber.

BACKGROUND ART

Polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber, which exhibits the pliability ofnylon fiber and the mechanical properties of polyester fiber, is a fiberused for clothing applications because of its characteristicallyexcellent stretchability (easy elongation and easy recovery afterstretching).

Currently in the field of clothing manufacture, fabrics (hereinafter, afabric includes a woven fabric and a knitted fabric) composed ofpolytrimethylene terephthalate fiber are subjected to “fabric dyeing”,which is dyeing of the fabric, in order to obtain fabrics with anexcellent soft feel and stretchability.

Fabric dyeing, however, has had a drawback in that it cannot producefabrics with an excellent fashionable sort of high-quality, which areinstead obtained by forming patterns through color arrangements betweenyarns. This has led to increased demand for fabrics made of dyed yarn,with the fabrics being woven or knitted by the yarn after dyeing;however, dyed yarn exhibiting the original soft feel and stretchabilityof polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber and excellent dimensionalstability suitable for fabric purposes has not yet been achieved.

With fabric dyeing, fabrics exhibiting excellent stretchability andexcellent bulkiness can be obtained using polytrimethylene terephthalatefiber crimped by yarn working such as false twisting. However, the crimpelongation is insufficient when using dyed yarn obtained by ordinarymethods that employ polytrimethylene terephthalate fabric crimped byyarn working such as false twisting, and when such yarn is used forfabrics, the resulting fabrics have inferior stretchability andbulkiness compared to fabrics obtained by fabric dyeing. For this reasonthere has been a demand for dyed yarn with high crimp elongation, whichcan provide fabrics having excellent stretchability and bulkiness.

On the other hand, cellulose-based fiber and wool fiber both haveexcellent moisture absorption and a characteristic feel, and aretherefore in high demand for dyed yarn. Nevertheless, whencellulose-based fiber or wool fiber is used alone in fabrics, thedimensional stability is inferior and wrinkles tend to develop.

In order to solve such problems, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication(Kokai HEI) No. 8-170238 and other publications have proposed combiningregenerated cellulose fiber and polyester fiber. However, whilecombination with polyester fiber improves the dimensional stability andwrinkle resistance, a harder feel tends to result, or else the feelbecomes that of polyester, thereby significantly impairing the feel ofthe cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber, while the stretchability isalso inadequate.

A demand has therefore existed for dyed yarn exhibiting the feel ofcellulose-based fiber or wool fiber, while also having excellentstretchability and dimensional stability.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is as follows.

1. Dyed yarn characterized by comprising dyed polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber, having an elastic recovery of 60% or greater under10% elongation, and having a boiling water shrinkage of no greater than4%.

2. Dyed yarn according to 1. above, characterized in that the yarn iscrimped yarn with a crimp elongation of 10% or greater.

3. Dyed yarn according to 1. or 2. above, characterized in that the yarnis composed of polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber and a fiber otherthan polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber.

4. Dyed yarn according to 3. above, characterized in that the fiberother than polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber is cellulose-based fiberor wool fiber.

5. Dyed yarn according to any one of 1. to 4. above, characterized inthat the yarn has an elongation of 5% or greater under a load of 0.8826cN/dtex.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The objects of the invention are listed below as (1), (2) and (3).

(1) To provide dyed yarn of polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber withexcellent stretchability and dimensional stability and capable offorming fabrics with a soft feel.

(2) To provide dyed yarn with higher crimp elongation for crimped dyedyarn, which allows formation of fabrics with excellent bulkiness.

(3) To provide dyed yarn which allows formation of fabrics withoutimpairing the feel of cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber when used inmixed yarns with cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber.

As a result of diligent research on these problems, the presentinventors have accomplished the present invention upon finding thatthese problems can be overcome by employing a specific dyeing method fordyeing of yarn composed of polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber.

The present invention will now be explained in greater detail.

According to the invention, “polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber”refers to polyester fiber wherein the primary repeating unit is atrimethylene terephthalate unit, and wherein the trimethyleneterephthalate unit content is at least about 50 mole percent, preferablyat least 70 mole percent, more preferably at least 80 mole percent andeven more preferably at least 90 mole percent.

It therefore includes polytrimethylene terephthalate containing anotheracid component and/or glycol component as a third component, in a totalamount of no greater than about 50 mole percent, preferably no greaterthan 30 mole percent, more preferably no greater than 20 mole percentand even more preferably no greater than 10 mole percent.

Polytrimethylene terephthalate is synthesized by bonding terephthalicacid or a functional derivative thereof with trimethylene glycol or afunctional derivative thereof, under appropriate reaction conditions inthe presence of a catalyst. In the synthesis process, one or more typesof appropriate third components may be added to prepare a polyestercopolymer, or the polytrimethylene terephthalate may be blended withnylon or a polyester other than polytrimethylene terephthalate such aspolyethylene terephthalate, for composite spinning (sheath-core,side-by-side, etc.)

Composite spinning, as exemplified in Japanese Examined PatentPublication SHO No. 43-19108, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication HEINo. 11-189923, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-239927 orJapanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-256918, usingpolytrimethylene terephthalate as a first component and using nylon or apolyester such as polytrimethylene terephthalate, polyethyleneterephthalate or polybutylene terephthalate as a second component,involves side-by-side or eccentric sheath-core composite spinningwherein the first and second components are arranged in parallel oreccentrically.

Preferred are combinations of polytrimethylene terephthalate andpolytrimethylene terephthalate copolymer, or combinations of two typesof polytrimethylene terephthalate with different intrinsic viscosities.It is particularly preferred to use two types of polytrimethyleneterephthalate with different intrinsic viscosities, for side-by-sidecomposite spinning in which the lower viscosity component surrounds thehigher viscosity component with a curved bonding surface, as disclosedin Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-239927, since thiscombines the advantages of high stretchability and high bulk.

As third components to be added there may be mentioned aliphaticdicarboxylic acids (oxalic acid, adipic acid, etc.), alicyclicdicarboxylic acids (cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, etc.), aromaticdicarboxylic acids (isophthalic acid, sodiumsulfoisophthalic acid,etc.), aliphatic glycols (ethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol,tetramethylene glycol, etc.), alicyclic glycols (cyclohexanedimethanol,etc.), aliphatic glycols containing aromatic rings(1,4-bis(β-hydroxyethoxy)benzene, etc.), polyether glycols (polyethyleneglycol, polypropylene glycol, etc.), aliphatic oxycarboxylic acids(ω-oxycaproic acid, etc.) and aromatic oxycarboxylic acids (p-oxybenzoicacid, etc.).

Compounds having 1 or 3 or more ester-forming functional groups (benzoicacid, etc. or glycerin, etc.) may also be used so long as the polymer isessentially linear.

There may also be added delustering agents such as titanium dioxide,stabilizers such as phosphoric acid, bluing agents such as cobaltacetate, ultraviolet absorbers such as hydroxbenzophenone derivatives,crystallization nucleating agents such as talc, lubricants such asaerosil, antioxidants such as hindered phenol derivatives, flameretardants, electrostatic agents, pigments, fluorescent whiteners,infrared absorbers, defoaming agents, and the like.

According to the invention, spinning of the polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber may be accomplished by any method, for example, amethod of obtaining undrawn yarn at a take-up speed of about 1500 m/minand then draw-twisting at a factor of about 2-3.5, a direct drawingmethod with an on-line spinning/draw-twisting step (spin-draw method), ahigh-speed spinning method with a take-up speed of 5000 m/min or greater(spin/take-up method), or a method of drawing subsequent to cooling in awater bath after spinning.

The fiber may be filament or short fiber. Also, the fiber shape may beuniform or irregular in thickness in the lengthwise direction, and thecross-sectional shape of the fiber may be circular, triangular,L-shaped, T-shaped, Y-shaped, W-shaped, eight leaf-shaped, flat-shaped,polygonal such as dog bone-shaped, multi-lobed, hollow or indefinitelyshaped.

Further, the yarn is preferably produced yarn, false twisted yarn(including POY drawn false twisted yarn), pretwisted-false twisted yarn(for example, pretwisted 600-1000 T/m in the S or Z direction and falsetwisted 3000-4000 T/m in the Z or S direction), air-jet textured yarn,spun yarn such as ring-spun yarn, open-end spun yarn or the like,multifilament produced yarn (including superfine yarn) or blended yarns.

The undyed polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber used for the inventionpreferably has a breaking strength of 2.2-4.0 cN/dtex, a breakingelongation of 30-55%, a Young's modulus of 14-24 cN/dtex, an elasticrecovery of 60-95% under 20% elongation and a boiling water shrinkage of4-20%.

The total size of fiber is preferably 20-550 dtex and more preferably30-220 dtex, while the single filament size is preferably 0.1-12 dtexand especially 0.5-5 dtex, in order to give a soft feel.

The yarn of the invention is sufficient if it comprises polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber. It preferably comprises the polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber in an amount of at least 20 wt %, more preferably atleast 30 wt % and even more preferably at least 50 wt %. Fabrics withsatisfactory stretchability can be obtained if the amount is at least 20wt %.

The fiber other than the polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber composingthe yarn of the invention may be any fiber including natural fiber suchas wool, cotton, hemp or silk, regenerated cellulose fiber such asviscose rayon or cupro, or synthetic fiber represented by acetate,polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide and acryl.

The dyed yarn of the invention has an elastic recovery of 60% or moreunder 10% elongation, preferably from 60 to 95%, more preferably from 70to 95%. If an elastic recovery under 10% elongation is 60% or more, afabric having excellent stretchability can be obtained. In general, ayarn having an elastic recovery of more than 95% under 10% elongationcan hardly be obtained.

The dyed yarn of the invention has a boiling water shrinkage of nogreater than 4%, more preferably no greater than 3% and most preferablyno greater than 2%. The boiling water shrinkage is the value measuredaccording to boiling water shrinkage measurement method B of JIS-L-1013,at a hot water temperature of 100° C. A boiling water shrinkage of 4% orless will ensure virtually no change in the property of the gray fabricand property of the finished fabric and will result in virtually noshrinkage or stretching when the fabric is washed, thereby yielding aproduct with excellent dimensional stability.

“Dyed yarn” according to the invention refers to yarn which has beendyed while in a hank or cheese state, and especially yarn which may besuitably used for fabrics. It does not include yarn detached from a dyedwoven or knitted fabric.

In order to obtain dyed yarn according to the invention it is preferredto accomplish yarn dyeing by cheese dyeing or hank dyeing.

The following description concerns cheese dyeing.

The cheese winding density is preferably 0.1-0.5 g/cm³, and morepreferably 0.25-0.4 g/cm³. A winding density of greater than 0.1 g/cm³will give a stable cheese state, so that for dyeing after setting in acheese dyeing machine, the form will not disintegrate, the yarn willrelax in a uniform manner, and the dyeing solution will pass throughevenly for uniform dyeing. A winding density of no greater than 0.5g/cm³ will prevent an excessive cheese winding density even when theyarn undergoes thermal contraction during scouring and dyeing, therebyensuring satisfactory passage of the dye solution, avoiding productionof uneven dyeing in the inner and outer layers of the cheese, andkeeping the boiling water shrinkage from becoming too high.

In order to obtain a level dyeing property with cheese dyeing, it ispreferred not only for the cheese winding density to be 0.1-0.50 g/cm³,but also to employ a method in which after soft winding on a paper tube,the paper tube is replaced with a dyeing tube with a smaller outerdiameter for cheese dyeing, to prevent increased winding density of thecheese by thread shrinkage during dyeing. The replacement rate with thedyeing tube is in the range of preferably 5-30% and more preferably10-20%, and may be appropriately set with consideration of the yarnthread shrinkage. The replacement rate (%) is the value determined bythe following equation, where A is the outer diameter of the windingpaper tube and B is the outer diameter of the dyeing tube.Replacement rate (%)=(1−B/A)×100

The cheese dyeing may be accomplished with a commonly used cheese dyeingmachine. Scouring may be carried out under conditions for washing ofproduced yarn oiling agents, as is commonly practiced, and for example,it may be carried out for 10-30 minutes at 50-90° C. in the presence ofa nonionic surfactant, sodium carbonate, or the like.

The polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber may be dyed according to adyeing method employing a disperse dye, as is common for polyethyleneterephthalate fiber. For example, the dyeing temperature may be 90-130°C. and the dyeing period from 15-120 minutes, but because of the lowglass transition temperature of polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber,even with dyeing at low temperatures of 90-120° C. it cancharacteristically exhibit coloration which is superior to conventionalpolyethylene terephthalate fiber.

When the yarn also comprises fiber other than polytrimethyleneterephthalate, the dyeing conditions may be adjusted for normal dyeingof such fiber, and it may be dyed either before, after or during dyeingof the polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber.

According to the invention, a common commercially available oiling agentor the like may be added to the cheese form or yarn in order to improvethe knitting ability and pliability of the yarn.

The following description concerns hank dyeing.

Hank dyeing may be carried out by employing common steps, which areusually hank reeling→pretreatment→scouring→dyeing→dewatering→drying→conewinding.

The hank reeling may be carried out using a common hank reeler,preferably to prepare a hank of 50 g to 2 kg with a hank length of 1-3m.

In order to relax the hank as pretreatment, an air drier, continuoushank heat treatment apparatus or the like may be used for dry heattreatment at preferably 50-100° C. and more preferably 60-90° C. for aperiod of 5-30 minutes. An autoclave, steam setter, steam box, etc. mayalso be used for steam treatment at preferably 60-130° C. and morepreferably 80-110° C. for a period of 5-30 minutes.

Scouring and dyeing may be accomplished with appropriate selection of acirculation type hank dyeing machine, spray type hank dyeing machine,package dyeing machine or the like. The scouring may be carried outunder conditions for washing of produced yarn oiling agents, as iscommonly practiced, and for example, it may be carried out for 10-30minutes at 50-90° C. in the presence of a nonionic surfactant, sodiumcarbonate, or the like.

The polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber may be dyed according to adyeing method employing a disperse dye, as is common for polyethyleneterephthalate fiber. For example, the dyeing temperature may be 90-130°C. and the dyeing period from 15-120 minutes. When the yarn alsocomprises fiber other than polytrimethylene terephthalate, the dyeingconditions may be adjusted for normal dyeing of such fiber, and it maybe dyed either before, after or during dyeing of the polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber.

The dewatering and drying steps may be carried out according to commonmethods.

Cone winding may be accomplished by winding using a common windingmachine, but unstable winding tension from the hank can produce warpstreaks or weft bars when the fabric is formed, and it is thereforepreferred to rewind back onto another cone after winding from the hankto the cone, or to carry out cone winding with a feed roller-equippedwinding machine to allow control of the winding tension.

A common commercially available oiling agent or the like may be added tothe hank form or during cone winding in order to improve the knittingability and pliability of the yarn.

Polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber has more oligomers thanpolyethylene terephthalate fiber, and adhesion of those oligomers canreduce the gloss of the dyed yarn. An alkali agent may therefore be usedin the scouring step (for example adding 0.5-5 g/liter of sodiumcarbonate or sodium hydroxide), or dyeing may be carried out at thealkali end of pH 8-11 with an alkali-resistant disperse dye, in order toreduce oligomer adhesion. Here, the waste water is preferably at thesame high temperature as the scouring and dyeing temperature.

The dyed yarn of the invention has a crimp elongation of at least 10%,more preferably 15-500%, even more preferably 20-300% and mostpreferably 5-150%. A crimp elongation within this range will yield afabric with excellent stretchability and bulkiness.

The yarn is composed of crimped yarn of polytrimethylene terephthalatefiber.

Examples of crimped yarn include composite fiber yarn with developedcrimping and/or latent crimping (composite produced yarn such assheath-core or side-by-side), or yarn which has been crimped by falsetwisting, stuffer-box crimping or knit-de-knit texturing.

As a property of the crimped yarn, the crimp elongation is preferably atleast 10%, more preferably at least 20% even more preferably at least50%. By using yarn with a crimp elongation in this range, it is possibleto obtain dyed yarn with a crimp elongation of 10% or greater. The“crimp elongation” referred to here is the value measured according tostretchability test method A of JIS-L-1090 after treatment with dry heatat 90° C. for 15 minutes under a load of 2.6×10⁻⁴ cN/dtex, and standingfor 24 hours.

The crimped yarn is most preferably false twisted yarn which readilyexhibits a high crimp elongation. The false twisting may be based on acommonly used pin-type, friction-type, nip-belt type or air-twistingtype process. It may be single-heater false twisting or double-heaterfalse twisting, and it may even be POY draw twisting.

The false twisting heater temperature may be set as desired within arange which allows the object of the invention to be achieved, and inmost cases the yarn temperature immediately at the exit port of thefirst heater will be in the range of preferably 100° C. to 200° C., morepreferably 120° C. to 180° C. and most preferably 130° C. to 170° C.

If necessary, the yarn may be heat set at a second heater to obtaindouble-heater false twisted yarn. The second heater temperature ispreferably 100° C. to 210° C., and more preferably it is in the range ofno lower than 30° C. below and no higher than 50° C. above the yarntemperature immediately at the exit port of the first heater. Theoverfeed ratio in the second heater (second overfeed ratio) ispreferably from +3% to +30%.

The number of false twists T may be in a range commonly used for falsetwisting of polyethylene terephthalate-based polyester fiber, and it iscalculated by the equation shown below. In this case, the value of thefalse twisting constant K is preferably in the range of 17,600 to35,000, and the preferred number of false twists T is determined basedon the false twisted yarn.T(T/m)=K/{size of false twisted yarn (dtex)}^(0.5)

As another type of preferred crimped yarn, it is preferred to usecomposite fiber with developed crimping and/or latent crimping whereintwo types of polytrimethylene terephthalate with different intrinsicviscosities are employed in side-by-side composite spinning in which thelower viscosity component surrounds the higher viscosity component witha curved bonding surface, because this not only makes it possible toobtain dyed yarn with the same high degree of crimping as false twistedyarn, but also facilitates handling of the hank during the hank dyeingstep, since none of the residual torque typical of false twisted yarn ispresent. A cost advantage is also achieved since the crimping step canbe omitted.

The crimped yarn may also be blended with other types of fiber, forexample, natural fiber such as wool, or other fiber (also includingpolytrimethylene terephthalate filament yarn and short fiber), atnormally no greater than 80 wt %, preferably no greater than 70 wt % andmore preferably no greater than 50 wt %, by means such as mix spinning(CSIRO fil., etc.), interlaced blended fiber (high-shrinkage fiber anddifferent shrinkage blended yarn, etc.), yarn doubling and compositefalse twisting (elongation-based false twisting), two-feed fluid-jettexturing, and the like, so long as the object of the invention is notimpeded.

In order to improve the processability during the cheese or hank dyeingstep, one or two or more crimped filaments (in the case of falsetwisting, the false twisting directions may be either in the samedirection or in different directions) may be combined for twisting(additional twisting) at 50-1000 T/m and preferably 50-300 T/m. It ispreferred to conduct additional twisting within this range in order toavoid almost all tangling between the filaments and particularly in thecase of hank dyeing, to reduce breakage during the step of cone windingfrom the dyed hank.

When using false twisted yarn which has been false twisted in only onedirection, the yarn twisting is preferably carried out in the oppositedirection from the false twisting in order to increase the crimpelongation of the dyed yarn. There are no particular restrictions on theyarn twisting machine, and an Italy yarn twister, ring yarn twister,double twister or the like may be used.

Since polyester fiber or polyamide fiber which is yarn twisted usuallygenerates torque in the direction opposite to the direction of yarntwisting, it is commonly twist set after yarn twisting to relieve thetorque. Polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber, however, is characterizedby being resistant to relief of torque. This is due to the high heatshrinkage of polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber, wherein contractionof the non-crystalline sections occurs upon twist setting in a state oftension, with the shrinkage stress causing the crystalline sections toelongate. Because they are almost completely elastic, the crystallinesections do not relieve the torque even upon twist setting. It issurmised that this is the reason that only high residual torque yarn isobtained as a result.

Since polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber is pliable, the use of highresidual torque yarn for production of hank results in localconcentration of torque which produces snarls (a phenomenon of localtwisting of the yarn) at those points, and it has been shown that thesesnarls cause the yarns to tangle together, resulting in poor yarnseparability.

The present inventors have found that in the case of polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber, a yarn twist number of less than 300 T/m causes thetorque to be absorbed by the filaments composing the yarn even if thehank is prepared without twist setting, such that there is no localconcentration of torque and the resulting hank contains virtually nosnarls.

In other words, in order to obtain dyed yarn with a crimp elongationproperty of 10% or greater it is preferred to omit the twist settingstep.

However, in cases with such a large number of twists that the torqueabsolutely must be relieved by twist setting, twist setting may becarried out so long as the object of the invention can still beachieved. In such cases, the polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber ispreferably subjected to twist setting while relaxing the yarn, sincetwist setting is less effective in a state of tension. For example,rewinding may be carried out around a cardboard dummy cushion materialin the inner layer of an aluminum flanged cylinder in order toaccomplish twist setting while adequately relaxing the yarn. The windingamount is not important so long as it is sufficient to prevent loss ofthe wound shape by setting in the yarn cylinder winding. Winding at atension of no greater than 0.1 cN/dtex is preferred for a sufficienteffect by setting.

An apparatus such as a vacuum setter can usually be used for setting.From the standpoint of achieving an adequate setting effect and crimpingexpression, as well as energy efficiency, the treatment temperature ispreferably 60-110° C. and the treatment time is usually preferred to be10-60 minutes.

The crimped yarn may also be subjected to bulking before or after yarntwisting in order to develop the latent crimping in the yarn forincreased crimping. This is particularly effective for cheese dyeing,since the crimped yarn sometimes cannot be sufficiently relaxed duringdyeing. The apparatus used for bulking may be, for example, a Bulone bySakamoto Rensen Co., Ltd., or a continuous bulking apparatus by SuperbaCo.

The working may be carried out under conditions with an overfeed ratioof 50-200%, using dry heat or steam as the heat source for relaxationwith treatment at preferably 60-200° C. and more preferably 90-190° C.The bulked yarn will have a boiling water shrinkage of 4% or lower and acrimp elongation of 50% or greater. This gives dyed yarn with a highcrimp elongation, since only slight yarn shrinkage occurs during cheesedyeing and the crimps are not elongated with shrinkage.

A method of obtaining yarn with the specific crimp elongation of theinvention will now be explained.

In the case of hank dyeing, it may be carried out according to thedyeing method described above, but the hank is preferably relaxed by dryor wet heating (with steam or hot water) during pretreatment or in thescouring and dyeing steps (to express the crimps with as little tensionas possible).

For example, when the hank is relaxed by pretreatment, a hot air drieror continuous hank heat treatment apparatus may be used for dry heattreatment at preferably 50-100° C. and more preferably 60-90° C., for aperiod of 5-30 minutes. An autoclave, steam setter, steam box or thelike may also be used for steam treatment at preferably 60-130° C. andmore preferably 80-110° C. for a period of 5-30 minutes. However, if thepretreatment is carried out with the hank anchored in a frame or withthe hank stuffed in a bag at high density, so that the hank itself isrestricted, it may not be possible to adequately express crimping insome cases.

On the other hand, when the hank is relaxed in the scouring and dyeingsteps, it is preferably subjected to hot water treatment for 5-60minutes at 50-130° C. using a circulation type hank dyeing machine orspray tape hank dyeing machine, to minimize tension on the hank. Somespray type hank dyeing machines are provided with a vertical anchoringbar for adjustment of the hank length, and with such apparatuses it ispreferred to narrow the anchoring bar as much as possible to allowrelaxation of the hank during treatment.

In the case of cheese dyeing, it may be carried out by the dyeing methoddescribed above, but crimped yarn which has been bulked to express itslatent crimping is preferably used in order to obtain dyed yarn with ahigh crimp elongation.

The yarn of the invention is preferably a yarn blended with naturalcellulose fiber such as cotton or hemp, regenerated cellulose fiber suchas cupro, viscose rayon or polynosic rayon, cellulose-based fiber suchas riocell (direct spun cellulose fiber) or wool fiber such as wool,alpaca, mohair, angora, camel or cashmere, in order to effectively takeadvantage of the feel of cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber, and toobtain dyed yarn with excellent dimensional stability andstretchability.

Also, blends with multifilaments of regenerated cellulose fiber such ascupro or viscose rayon are preferred for fabrics in order to obtain thelustrous feel of the regenerated cellulose fiber multifilaments, and inparticular, blending of regenerated cellulose fiber multifilaments witha boiling water shrinkage of from −3 to 5% is preferred because thisresults in a greater difference in shrinkage with the polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber in the dyeing, so that the cellulose feel is notlost and the stretchability may be more readily exhibited.

There are no particular restrictions on the method of spinning theregenerated cellulose fiber, and it may be fiber produced by any methodsuch as a hank method, cake method, net process method or roving method;however, a hank method, cake method or net process method is preferredto obtain regenerated cellulose fiber multifilaments with a boilingwater shrinkage of from −3 to 5%.

Also, two or more different types of such yarn may be combined anddoubled, or interlaced, and depending on the purpose of use, adelustering agent such as titanium oxide or any of various publiclyknown additives may also be included.

Cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber with a single filament size ofpreferably 0.1-12 dtex and more preferably 1-5 dtex may be blended withthe polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber for more excellentprocessability and a more soft yarn feel.

According to the invention, the method of blending the polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber and other fiber may be any method that can integratethe different fibers, and is otherwise not particularly restricted; forexample, they may be blended by means such as yarn doubling, covering,false twisting, fluid-jet texturing or combined spun spinning. When theyarn comprises a sheath-core structure such as obtained by covering,elongation-based false twisting or two-feed fluid-jet texturing, usingthe polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber as the core yarn is preferredto obtain superior stretchability.

In the case of false twisting, a belt-nip, friction or pin type falsetwisting machine may be used, and the false twisting temperature ispreferably 140-180° C. in consideration of the melting point ofpolytrimethylene terephthalate fiber. The false twisted yarn may also besubjected to additional twisting at 50-1000 T/m for an improved bundlingproperty. For improved stretchability, the direction for additionaltwisting is preferably in the direction opposite from the false twistingdirection.

In the case of yarn doubling, there are no particular restrictions onthe number of doubled filaments, the number of twists or the directionof yarn twisting, but for yarn twisting with a first twist and secondtwist it is preferred to balance the twisting so that no residual torqueremains in the plied yarn, and in the case of two folded yarn twisting,for example, the ratio of the number of second twists with respect toeach first twist is preferably 0.6-0.8, in order to minimize opening ofthe twist. The yarn twisting may involve, for example, plied yarn of twostrands of double twisted yarn in which polytrimethylene terephthalatefiber and another fiber are first twisted.

In the case of covering, there are no particular restrictions on thenumber of covering strands, the number of coverings and the coveringdirection, but when false twisted yarn of polytrimethylene terephthalatefiber is used as the covering yarn for double covering, it is preferredto use false twisted yarn with a different false twisting direction inorder to alleviate residual torque of the covering yarn.

As a method for blending yarn of cellulose-based fiber or wool fiberwith polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber, there may be employed, forexample, a method of double twisting the polytrimethylene terephthalatefiber with the cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber, a covering methodusing the polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber as the core and windingthe cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber around it, a method of fluid-jettexturing using the polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber as the coreyarn and the cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber as the sheath yarn, amethod of doubling the polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber and thecellulose-based fiber or wool fiber and false twisting it, or a methodof interlacing the polytrimethylene telephthalate fiber and thecellulose-based fiber or wool fiber with an interlace nozzle eitherbefore or after the false twisting step. In the case of cotton or woolstaple fibers, the method may involve combined spun spinning them as ablend with polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber at the spinning process.

In these blending methods, the polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber ispreferably stretched by about 1-5% while it is blended with thecellulose-based fiber or wool fiber, in order to improve thestretchability of the yarn. The constitutive proportion of thecellulose-based fiber or wool fiber with respect to the polytrimethyleneterephthalate fiber is preferably 80:20 to 20:80 and more preferably70:30 to 40:60 in terms of weight ratio. If the constitutive proportionof the cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber is within this range, thedimensional stability and stretchability will be excellent and the feelof the cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber will be effectivelyexhibited.

The dyed yarn of the invention has an elongation of preferably between5% and 50% and more preferably between 10% and 30%, under a load of0.8826 cN/dtex. If this range is satisfied, the dyed yarn will exhibitsuitable stretchability and no yarn breakage will occur during knittingor weaving. Particularly in the case of dyed yarn which is a compositewith cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber, the cellulose-based fiber orwool fiber becomes the sheath and the polytrimethylene terephthalatefiber becomes the core, so that the produced dyed yarn effectivelyexhibits the feel of cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber.

When the elongation is greater than 20% under a load of 0.8826 cN/dtex,the blended fiber takes the form of relaxed, low integrated compositeyarn, and therefore in order to improve the surface quality of thefabric it is preferred to subject the dyed composite yarn to additionaltwisting at 50-1000 T/m.

According to a preferred representative mode of the invention,regenerated cellulose filaments and polytrimethylene terephthalatefilaments are blended at a weight ratio of 30:70 to 60:40, either bycovering with the false twisted polytrimethylene terephthalate filamentyarn as the core yarn and the regenerated cellulose filaments as thewinding yarn, or with interlaced doubling of the regenerated cellulosefilaments and polytrimethylene terephthalate filaments, followed byfalse twisting, and then the obtained yarn is formed into a cheese witha winding density of 0.1-0.5 g/cm³ and cheese dyed at a replacement rateof 10-20% onto the dyeing tube. Alternatively, a hank is prepared andhank dyeing is carried out with a spray type hank dyeing machine.

The dyed yarn of the invention is preferably at least 500 m, and morepreferably at least 1000 m, of continuous yarn with no knotting. Suchyarn can provide defect-free fabric body which presents no troubles suchas yarn breakage during knitting or weaving of fabrics.

The dyed yarn of the invention preferably has no more 5 crimps and morepreferably no more than 1 crimp, with a radius of 2 mm or greater, per2.54 cm. A number of crimps within this range will ensure excellentsurface quality of the fabric. The number of crimps generally exceeds 5in yarn which is not dyed yarn according to the invention but ratheryarn which has been made into a fabric, dyed and then removed afterdecomposing the fabric.

The number of crimps is measured according to the crimp counting methodof JIS-L-1015, wherein the number of crimps is examined in a 2.54 cmsection under an initial load of 0.18 mN/dtex on the entire dyed yarn,and the crimps with a radius of 2 mm or greater are counted. The crimpsare counted at 10 random points in the yarn length direction, and theaverage value is calculated.

The dyed yarn of the invention may be used in woven fabrics (taffeta,twill, satin or various modified textures) or knitted fabrics (warpknits, circular knits, weft knits, pantstocking knits, etc.), or it maybe used for the surface of a carpet (erected yarn). A particularadvantage is provided for usage as weft knitting yarn, since theobtained weft knit fabric can be easily set by Hoffman press finishing.The texture of the knitted fabric may be plain stitch, plain stitchkanoko, rib stitch, purl stitch, interlock stitch, Ponte di Roma, Milanorib or any of various modified textures, and these may be selected asappropriate for the purpose of the product.

The dyed yarn of the invention may be used for weft knitting (sweaters,etc.), circular knitting or weaving (outer or inner wear), lace, rib topor lapel accessories, braiding, chenille yarn, narrow tape, socks,supporter, pantstockings, tights, pile fabrics (outer wear, car sheets,etc.), carpets and the like.

The present invention will now be explained in greater detail by way ofexamples, with the understanding that these examples are in no waylimitative on the invention.

The methods of measurement and evaluation were as follows.

(1) Reduction Viscosity (ηsp/c)

The polymer was dissolved in o-chlorophenol to a concentration of 1 g/dlat 90° C., and the obtained solution was transferred to a Ostwaldviscosity tube and measured at 35° C. The following equation was usedfor calculation.

 ηsp/c=[(T/T 0)−1]/C

(wherein T is the falling time of the solution sample (sec), T0 is thesolvent falling time (sec) and C is the solution concentration (g/dl))

(2) Strength and Elongation

A Tensilon by Toyo-Baldwin Co., Ltd. was used for measurement of thetensile strength (cN/dtex), tensile elongation (%) and initial elasticmodulus (cN/dtex) under conditions with a sample length of 20 cm and apull rate of 20 cm/min. The elongation (%) under a load of 0.8826cN/dtex was measured from a stress-strain curve.

(3) Boiling Water Shrinkage

This was measured according to boiling water shrinkage measurementmethod B of JIS-L-1013. The hot water temperature was 100° C.

(4) Crimp Elongation Factor

Dry heat treatment was carried out at 90° C. for 15 minutes in a PerfectOven by Tabai Co., Ltd., under application of a load of 2.6×10⁻⁴cN/dtex, after which the yarn was allowed to stand for 24 hours and thenmeasured according to stretchability test method A of JIS-L-1090.

(5) Number of Crimps

This was measured according to the crimp counting method of JIS-L-1015.

The number of crimps was examined in a 2.54 cm section under an initialload of 0.18 mN/dtex on the entire dyed yarn, and the crimps with aradius of 2 mm or greater were counted. The crimps were counted at 10random points in the yarn length direction, and the average value wascalculated.

(6) Elastic Recovery

The fiber was mounted in a tensile tester under an initial load of0.0294 cN/dtex with a chuck distance of 20 cm, elongated to anelongation factor of 20% at a pull rate of 20 cm/min, and allowed tostand for 1 minute. It was then allowed to contract at the same rate,and a stress-strain curve was drawn. The residual elongation (A) wasdefined as the elongation at the point when the stress duringcontraction was 0.0294 cN/dtex.

The elastic recovery at 20% elongation was calculated by the followingformula.Elastic recovery at 20% elongation (%)=[(20−A)/20]×100

The elastic recovery at 10% elongation was determined in the same manneras above, reading off the initial load and residual elongation, with0.08826 cN/dtex as the stress and 10% as the maximum elongation factor,and it was calculated by the following formula.Elastic recovery at 10% elongation (%)=[(10−A)/10]×100

(7) Weft Knit Fabric Stretchability

This was measured according to the stretching elastic modulusmeasurement method A (constant stretching method) of JIS-L-1018.

Using an autograph-equipped constant rate tensile tester and a samplepiece with a width of 10 cm and a length of 15 cm, application of aninitial load of 2.942 cN was followed by elongation to an elongationfactor of 100% at a rate of 10 cm/min, with a grip width of 2.5 cm and agrip distance of 10 cm, and then standing for 1 minute. The sample wasthen allowed to contract at the same rate, a stress-strain curve wasdrawn, and L (mm) was determined as the residual elongation at the pointwhen the stress during contraction was equivalent to the stress with theinitial load, for calculation of the recovery according to the followingformula.Recovery (%)=[(100−L)/100]×100

The stretchability of the obtained weft knit fabric was ranked on thefollowing scale, based on the recovery.

-   -   ⊚: Recovery of >90%    -   ◯: Recovery of ≧85% and <90%    -   Δ: Recovery of ≧80% and <85%    -   X: Recovery of <70%

(8) Weft Knit Fabric Pliability, Bulkiness and Feel

An organoleptic examination was conducted based on touch by 10 examinersinvolved in fiber research, and the following ranking was made.

<Pliability>

-   -   ◯: Soft feel    -   Δ: Somewhat soft feel    -   X: Hard feel        <Weft Knit Fabric Bulkiness>    -   ◯: Definitely bulky    -   Δ: Bulky in some degree    -   X: Not bulky        <Feel>

◯: Feel similar to cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber (Dryness,moisture absorption, drape quality)

Δ: Feel somewhat similar to cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber

X: Almost no feel similar to cellulose-based fiber

(9) Dimensional Stability of Weft Knit Fabric

This was measured according to the shrinkage measurement method D ofJIS-L-1018, and the following ranking was made.

◯: Warp and weft shrinkage within −3.0 to 5.0%

Δ: Warp or weft shrinkage outside of −3.0 to 5.0%

X: Both warp and weft shrinkage outside of −3.0 to 5.0%

EXAMPLE 1

Polytrimethylene terephthalate chips with an ηsp/c of 0.8 were used toobtain undrawn yarn at a spinning temperature of 265° C. and a spinningspeed of 1200 m/min. The yarn was then draw twisted at a hot rolltemperature of 60° C., a hot plate temperature of 140° C., a draw factorof 3 and a draw speed of 800 m/min to obtain produced yarn at 167dtex/72 f.

The properties of the produced yarn were a strength of 3.5 cN/dtex, aelongation of 45%, an elastic modulus of 22 cN/dtex and an elasticrecovery of 85% at 20% elongation.

The 167 dtex/72 f polytrimethylene terephthalate produced yarn wastwisted at 1000 T/m with an Italy yarn twister to obtain yarn (0% crimpelongation).

A Soft Winder by Kamitsu Co., Ltd. was used to wind the obtained yarnaround a paper tube with a diameter of 81 mm, to 1 kg with a windingdensity of 0.40 g/cm³. The cheese was replaced onto a dyeing tube withan outer diameter of 69 mm (replacement rate: 14.8%) and set in a cheesedyeing machine (Small Cheese Dyer, product of Hisaka Works, Ltd.), afterwhich Scouroll FC-250 (1 g/liter, product of Kao Corp.) was added, thetemperature was raised from room temperature to 60° C. at a temperatureelevating rate of 2° C./min, and scouring was carried out at 60° C. for10 minutes at a flow rate of 40 liters/min.

After scouring, the yarn was dewatered and washed with water, 1% omf ofa disperse dye (Dianix Blue AC-E) and 0.5 g/liter of a dispersing agent(Disper TL) were added and the pH was adjusted to 5 with acetic acid,after which the dye solution was circulated in and out at a flow rate of40 liters/min, the temperature was raised to 120° C. at a temperatureelevating rate of 2° C./min, and dyeing was carried out at 120° C. for30 minutes. After dyeing, the yarn was dewatered and washed with water,the temperature was raised to 80° C. at a temperature elevating rate of2° C./min, and reduction clearing was carried out at 80° C. for 20minutes with 1 g/liter of sodium hydroxide, 1 g/liter of hydrosulfiteand 1 g/liter of Sanmole RC-700 (Nicca Chemical Co.), at a flow rate of40 liters/min.

After the reduction clearing, the solution was removed, neutralizationwashing was performed, 5% omf of a silicone-based softener (RonsizeK-22, product of Ippo Sha Co., Ltd.) was added and oiling treatment wascarried out at 50° C. for 20 minutes. This was dewatered and dried toobtain dyed yarn. The dyed yarn had excellent dyeing uniformity in theinner and outer layers of the cheese, and exhibited the properties shownin Table 1.

A weft knitting machine (14 gauge, product of Koppo Co., Ltd.) was usedto combine 3 yarns of the dyed yarn obtained above, and then a weft knitfabric with a 24-course, 20-wale plain stitch texture was prepared andsteam finished using a Hoffman press (Kobe Press, product of KobeElectric Industry Co., Ltd.) to complete the weft knit fabric.

As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric had excellentstretchability and dimensional stability, with a soft feel.

EXAMPLE 2

The 167 dtex/72 f polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilament producedyarn obtained in Example 1 was subjected to false twisting using anIVF338 pin false twisting machine by Ishikawa Works, Ltd. underconditions with a yarn speed of 190 m/min, a twist number of 2280 T/m, afalse twisting temperature of 170° C., a 1st feed of 0.0% and a take-upfeed of 4.1%, to obtain yarn with a crimp elongation of 200%.

A Soft Winder by Kamitsu Co., Ltd. was used for direct winding of theobtained yarn around a dyeing tube with an outer diameter of 69 mm, tomake a 1 kg cheese with a winding density of 0.25 g/cm³. The cheese wassubjected to cheese dyeing and finishing in the same manner asExample 1. The properties of the dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

This dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 1. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadexcellent stretchability and dimensional stability, with a soft feel.

EXAMPLE 3

Polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilament produced yarn (84 dtex/36f) was obtained in the same manner as Example 1. The properties of theproduced yarn were a strength of 3.2 cN/dtex, a elongation of 46%, anelastic modulus of 24 cN/dtex and an elastic recovery of 85% at 20%elongation.

The obtained 84 dtex/36 f polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilamentproduced yarn was subjected to false twisting using an IVF338 pin falsetwisting machine by Ishikawa Works, Ltd. under conditions with a yarnspeed of 190 m/min, a twist number of 3400 T/m, false twisting in the Zdirection, a false twisting temperature of 170° C., a 1st feed of 0.0%and a take-up feed of 4.1%, after which it was twisted in the Sdirection using an Italy yarn twister to obtain yarn. The crimpelongation of the yarn was 156%.

The obtained yarn was used to prepare a hank with a hank length of 180cm and a winding weight of 250 g using a reeling machine by IshikawaWorks, Ltd. The hank was subjected to dry heat relaxing treatment for 20minutes at 80° C. using a hot air drier, and then it was stuffed and setinto a package dyeing machine (product of Hisaka Works, Ltd.) andsubjected to scouring at 60° C. for 10 minutes using Scouroll FC-250 (1g/liter, product of Kao Corp.).

After scouring, the yarn was dewatered and washed with water, 1% omf ofa disperse dye (Dianix Blue AC-E) and 0.5 g/liter of a dispersing agent(Disper TL) were added and dyeing was performed for 30 minutes at 110°C. in a bath with the pH adjusted to 5 with acetic acid. After dyeing,the yarn was dewatered and washed with water, and reduction clearing wascarried out at 80° C. for 20 minutes with 1 g/liter of sodium hydroxide,1 g/liter of hydrosulfite and 1 g/liter of Sanmole RC-700 (NiccaChemical Co.). After the reduction clearing, the solution was removed,neutralization washing was performed, 5% omf of a silicone-basedsoftener (Ronsize K-22, product of Ippo Sha Co., Ltd.) was added andoiling treatment was carried out at 50° C. for 20 minutes.

The dewatered and dried hank was wound up onto a cone with a winder toobtain dyed yarn. The dyed yarn exhibited the properties shown in Table1.

A weft knitting machine (14 gauge, product of Koppo Co., Ltd.) was usedto combine 6 yarns of the dyed yarn obtained above, and then a weft knitfabric with a plain stitch texture was prepared and steam finished usinga Hoffman press (Kobe Press, product of Kobe Electric Industry Co.,Ltd.) to complete the weft knit fabric.

As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric had excellentstretchability, dimensional stability and bulkiness, with a soft feel.

EXAMPLE 4

Two types of 84 dtex/36 f polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilamentfalse twisted yarn, one false twisted in the Z direction and one in theS direction, were obtained in the same manner as Example 3. The twotypes of false twisted yarn (Z-false twisted and S-false twisted) weredoubled and twisted at 120 T/m in the S direction with an Italy yarntwister to obtain ply yarn. The crimp elongation of the yarn was 184%.

This yarn was used to obtain dyed yarn in the same manner as Example 3,except that the dyeing temperature was changed to 98° C. The propertiesof the dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

Three yarns of the dyed yarn were combined to obtain a weft knit fabricin the same manner as Example 1. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weftknit fabric had excellent stretchability, dimensional stability andbulkiness, with a soft feel.

EXAMPLE 5

Polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilament produced yarn (167 dtex/48f) was obtained in the same manner as Example 1. The properties of theproduced yarn were a strength of 3.8 cN/dtex, a elongation of 46%, anelastic modulus of 23 cN/dtex and an elastic recovery of 88% at 20%elongation.

The obtained produced yarn was used to obtain two types of false twistedyarn, one false twisted in the S direction and one in the Z direction,in the same manner as Example 3, except that the number of false twistswas changed to 2800 T/m. The obtained false twisted yarns (Z-falsetwisted and S-false twisted) were doubled and twisted at 100 T/m in theS direction with an Italy yarn twister, after which the twisted yarn waswound onto a collapsed paper tube and subjected to steam twist settingfor 20 minutes in an autoclave at 110° C. to obtain ply yarn. The crimpelongation of the yarn was 78%.

The obtained yarn was used to prepare a hank in the same manner asExample 3, and the hank was subjected to scouring, dyeing, reductionclearing, oiling treatment and cone winding in the same manner asExample 3 using a spray type hank dyeing machine, to obtain dyed yarn.The properties of the dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

The obtained dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the samemanner as Example 4. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabrichad excellent stretchability and dimensional stability and adequatebulk, with a soft feel.

EXAMPLE 6

The ply yarn obtained in Example 4 by doubling two types of 84 dtex/36 fpolytrimethylene terephthalate multifilament false twisted yarn, onefalse twisted in the Z direction and one in the S direction, and twistedat 120 T/m in the S direction, was worked with a continuous bulkingapparatus by Superba Co., under conditions with a yarn speed of 500m/min, an overfeed ratio of 160%, a relaxing temperature of 90° C., anda cheese winding density of 0.15 g/cm³ at 1 kg of winding onto a dyeingtube with a diameter of 69 mm, to obtain a cheese.

The cheese was subjected to cheese dyeing and finishing in the samemanner as Example 1 to obtain dyed yarn. The properties of the dyed yarnare shown in Table 1.

The dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 4. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadexcellent stretchability, dimensional stability and bulk, with a softfeel.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

Dyed yarn was obtained in the same manner as Example 1, except that 167dtex/72 f polyethylene terephthalate produced yarn (strength: 3.9cN/dtex, elongation: 35%, elastic modulus: 97 cN/dtex, elastic recoveryat 20% elongation: 25%, crimp elongation: 0%; product of Asahi KaseiCorp.) was used instead of the 167 dtex/72 f polytrimethyleneterephthalate multifilament produced yarn of Example 1, and the cheesedyeing temperature was changed to 130° C. The properties of the obtaineddyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

The dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 1. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadinferior stretchability and a hard feel.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

Dyed yarn was obtained in the same manner as Example 1, except that 155dtex/48 f nylon 66 produced yarn (strength: 4.2 cN/dtex, elongation:36%, elastic modulus: 27 cN/dtex, elastic recovery at 20% elongation:65%, crimp elongation: 0%; product of Asahi Kasei Corp.) was usedinstead of the 167 dtex/72 f polytrimethylene terephthalatemultifilament produced yarn of Example 1, the dye for cheese dyeing wasan acidic dye, and the dyeing temperature was changed to 110° C. Theproperties of the obtained dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

The dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 1. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadsomewhat inferior dimensional stability and stretchability compared toExample 1.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

False twisted and real twisted yarn was obtained in the same manner asExample 3, except that 84 dtex/36 f polyethylene terephthalate producedyarn (strength: 3.9 cN/dtex, elongation: 35%, elastic modulus: 97cN/dtex, elastic recovery at 20% elongation: 25%; product of Asahi KaseiCorp.) was used instead of the 84 dtex/36 f polytrimethyleneterephthalate multifilament produced yarn of Example 3, and the falsetwisting conditions were changed to a yarn speed of 190 m/min, a twistnumber of 3200 T/m, a Z false twisting direction, a false twistingtemperature of 220° C., a 1st feed of 0.0% and a take-up feed of 4.1%.The crimp elongation of the obtained dyed yarn was 145%.

This yarn was used to obtain dyed yarn in the same manner as Example 3,except that the dyeing temperature was changed to 130° C. The propertiesof the dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

The dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 3. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadexcellent dimensional stability and bulkiness, but inferiorstretchability.

EXAMPLE 7

The 167 dtex/48 f polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilament producedyarn obtained in Example 5 and 110 dtex/75 f cupro multifilamentproduced yarn (Bemberg™, product of Asahi Kasei Corp.; 0.9% boilingwater shrinkage) were air-interlaced with an air pressure of 1.6kgf/cm³, and then subjected to false twisting under conditions with ayarn speed of 100 m/min, a twist number of 1400 T/m, a false twistingtemperature of 170° C., a 1st feed of 0.0% and a take-up feed of 4.0%,using an IVF338 pin false twisting machine by Ishikawa Works, Ltd. Thefalse twisted yarn was then subjected to additional twisting at 300 T/min the S direction, which was opposite to the false twisting direction.The yarn had a crimp elongation of 52%.

A Soft Winder by Kamitsu Co., Ltd. was used to wind the obtained yarnaround a paper tube with a diameter of 90 mm, to 1 kg with a windingdensity of 0.33 g/cm³, to obtain a cheese.

The cheese was replaced onto a dyeing tube with an outer diameter of 72mm (replacement rate: 20%) and then scoured, disperse dyed and reductionwashed in the same manner as Example 1. After the reduction clearing,the solution was removed, neutralization washing was performed, anddyeing was carried out for 45 minutes with a reactive dye (Sumifix SupraBlue BRF) while adding 50 g/liter of salt cake, circulating the dyesolution in and out at a flow rate of 40 liters/min, raising thetemperature to 60° C. at a temperature elevating rate of 2° C./min andadding 15 g/liter of sodium carbonate in portions at 60° C.

After dyeing, and then solution removal, water washing, soaping, fixingand water washing, 5% omf of a high melting point wax-based softener(Ronsize N-700, product of Ippo Sha Co., Ltd.) was added and oilingtreatment was carried out at 50° C. for 20 minutes. This was dewateredand dried to obtain dyed yarn. The properties of the dyed yarn are shownin Table 1.

A weft knitting machine (14 gauge, product of Koppo Co., Ltd.) was usedto combine 2 yarns of the dyed yarn obtained above, and then a weft knitfabric with a 24-course, 20-wale plain stitch texture was prepared andsteam finished using a Hoffman press (Kobe Press, product of KobeElectric Industry Co., Ltd.) to complete the weft knit fabric. As shownin Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric was a superb product havingexcellent stretchability and dimensional stability, with the soft feelcharacteristic of cupro.

EXAMPLE 8

Polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilament produced yarn (56 dtex/24f) was obtained in the same manner as Example 1. The properties of theproduced yarn were a strength of 3.7 cN/dtex, a elongation of 44%, anelastic modulus of 23 cN/dtex and an elastic recovery of 86% at 20%elongation.

The obtained produced yarn was used to obtain false twisted yarn in thesame manner as Example 2, except that the number of false twists waschanged to 3780 T/m.

This false twisted yarn and 110 dtex/40 f viscose rayon multifilament(Silmax™, product of Asahi Kasei Corp.; 2.0% boiling water shrinkage)were twisted at 800 T/m in the Z direction with an Italy yarn twister toobtain composite twisted yarn. Two yarns of this composite twisted yarnwere then twisted at 580 T/m in the S direction with an Italy yarntwister to complete the yarn. The crimp elongation of the obtained yarnwas 35%.

The yarn was formed into a hank and relaxed in the same manner asExample 3, after which a spray type hank dyeing machine (product ofSinko Co.) was used for dyeing at 95° C. for 45 minutes with the samedisperse dye used in Example 1, reduction clearing and water washingwere carried out, dyeing was performed at 60° C. for 45 minutes with thesame reactive dye used in Example 7, and then soaping, fixing and oilingtreatment were carried out to obtain dyed yarn. The properties of thedyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

This dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 5. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric was asuperb product having excellent stretchability and dimensionalstability, with the soft feel characteristic of viscose rayon.

EXAMPLE 9

With the 167 dtex/48 f polytrimethylene terephthalate multifilamentfalse twisted yarn obtained in Example 5 as core yarn, a coveringmachine was used for double covering with a 60 count (English cottoncount) cotton yarn (first covering: S twisting, 800 T/m; second coveringreal twisting: Z twisting, 650 T/m), to obtain yarn. The crimpelongation of the obtained yarn was 80%.

The yarn was subjected to hank dyeing in the same manner as Example 8 toobtain dyed yarn. The properties of the dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

This dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 5. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric was asuperb product having excellent stretchability and dimensionalstability, with the soft feel characteristic of cotton.

EXAMPLE 10

Double covered yarn was obtained in the same manner as Example 9, exceptthat the core yarn was changed to 60 count (wool count) wool fiber andthe covering yarn was changed to the 84 dtex/36 f polytrimethyleneterephthalate multifilament false twisted yarn obtained in Example 3.The crimp elongation of the obtained yarn was 10%.

This yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manner asExample 5. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric was asuperb product having excellent stretchability and dimensionalstability, with the soft feel characteristic of wool.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 4

Dyed yarn was obtained in the same manner as Example 7, except that 167dtex/48 f polyethylene terephthalate produced yarn such as used inComparative Example 1 was used instead of the 167 dtex/48 fpolytrimethylene terephthalate multifilament produced yarn in Example 7.The properties of the obtained dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

The dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 7. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadsatisfactory dimensional stability but poor stretchability and a hardfeel, while the characteristic feel and luster of Bemberg were notexhibited.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 5

Dyed yarn was obtained in the same manner as Example 7, except that 155dtex/48 f nylon 66 produced yarn such as used in Comparative Example 2was used instead of the 167 dtex/48 f polytrimethylene terephthalatemultifilament produced yarn in Example 7, the disperse dye was changedto an acidic dye, and the dyeing temperature was changed to 110° C. Theproperties of the obtained dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

The dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 7. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadinferior dimensional stability and stretchability, as well as a hardfeel, while the characteristic feel and luster of Bemberg were notexhibited.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 6

False twisted yarn was obtained in the same manner as Example 2, exceptthat 167 dtex/50 f viscose rayon multifilament produced yarn (Silmax™,product of Asahi Kasei Corp.; 2.1% boiling water shrinkage) was usedinstead of the 167 dtex/72 f polytrimethylene terephthalatemultifilament produced yarn in Example 2. The crimp elongation of theobtained yarn was 7%.

This yarn was used to obtain dyed yarn in the same manner as Example 7,except that no disperse dye dyeing or reduction clearing were performed.The properties of the obtained dyed yarn are shown in Table 1.

The dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 2. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric hadinferior stretchability and dimensional stability.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 7

Dyed yarn was obtained in the same manner as Example 1, except that thecheese winding conditions in Example 1 were changed to a winding densityof 0.55 g/cm³ on a dyeing tube with a diameter of 69 mm, and noreplacement was carried out. The dyed yarn exhibited dyeing spots in theinner and outer layers of the cheese. The properties of the yarn areshown in Table 1.

This dyed yarn was used to obtain a weft knit fabric in the same manneras Example 1. As shown in Table 1, the obtained weft knit fabric had adyed yarn boiling water shrinkage of 4.5%, and the dimensional stabilityof the weft knit fabric was inferior.

TABLE 1 Dyed yarn properties Elastic Elonga- recovery tion under 10%Crimping under Boiling elonga- elonga- constant water Weft knit fabricproperties tion tion load shrinkage No. of Stretch- Dimensional (%) (%)(%) (%) crimps ability stability Pliability Bulkiness Feel Example 1 841.1 10.0 1.5 0 ⊚ ∘ ∘ x — Example 2 85 1.3 10.5 1.7 0 ⊚ ∘ ∘ x — Example 382 91 11.0 0.6 0 ⊚ ∘ ∘ ∘ — Example 4 86 120 11.3 0.9 1 ⊚ ∘ ∘ ∘ — Example5 84 24 10.1 0.7 0 ∘ ∘ ∘ Δ — Example 6 80 66 10.7 0.5 0 ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ —Comp.Ex. 1 30 0.5 4.5 0.6 0 x ∘ x x — Comp.Ex. 2 50 0.8 7.0 1.7 0 Δ Δ Δx — Comp.Ex. 3 29 75 8.5 0.5 1 Δ ∘ x ∘ — Example 7 80 25 13.3 1.0 0 ∘ ∘∘ Δ ∘ Example 8 82 30 19 1.3 0 ⊚ ∘ ∘ Δ ∘ Example 9 73 19 23 1.9 0 ∘ ∘ ∘∘ ∘ Example 10 87 10 18 1.5 0 ∘ ∘ ∘ Δ ∘ Comp.Ex. 4 45 12 6.5 1.0 0 x ∘ xx x Comp.Ex. 5 55 15 6.8 2.5 0 Δ Δ Δ x x Comp.Ex. 6 13 3 6.2 3.7 0 x x Δx ∘ Comp.Ex. 7 85 0.5 7.2 4.5 0 ∘ x ∘ x — Note: The elongation underconstant load was elongation under a load of 0.8826 cN/dtex.Industrial Applicability

The dyed yarn of the present invention is dyed yarn with excellentstretchability and dimensional stability, as well as a soft feel, and itis therefore suitable for use in fabrics. In particular, because of thehigh crimp elongation of the yarn when crimped, it can form fabrics withexcellent bulkiness. Its use in mixed yarns with cellulose-based fiberor wool fiber can effectively utilize the feel of the cellulose-basedfiber or wool fiber, thereby allowing creation of fabrics with excellentstretchability and feel.

1. Dyed yarn comprising crimped, dyed yarn containing dyedpolytrimethylene terephthalate fiber, said yarn having an elasticrecovery of 60% or greater under 10% elongation, a boiling watershrinkage of no greater than 4% and a crimp elongation of 10% orgreater.
 2. Dyed yarn according to claim 1 wherein said crimped, dyedyarn is composed of polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber and a fiberother than polytrimethylene terephthalate fiber.
 3. Dyed yarn accordingto claim 2, wherein the fiber other than polytrimethylene terephthalatefiber is cellulose-based fiber or wool fiber.
 4. Dyed yarn according toany one of claims 1, 2, or 3 wherein said crimped, dyed yarn has anelongation of 5% or greater under a load of 0.8826 cN/dtex.